Mike Sullivan says Sidney Crosby wasn’t evaluated for concussion after hit

Sidney Crosby missed two games recently for the Penguins, and took two hits to the head in Game 6, but his head coach said he wasn’t checked for a concussion.

Sidney Crosby has a long history of concussions in his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, even just a few days ago in the team’s conference semifinals series with the Washington Capitals.

The Penguins captain missed Games 3 and 4 in the series after taking a crosscheck to the head from Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen in Game 3, and came back fast to play in Game 5. Many hockey fans were suspicious of Crosby’s ability to return in such a short span after a concussion, and gave the team’s medical staff some slack on whether or not they did their jobs accordingly.

Then, in Game 6, Crosby took a couple more hits to the head in the first period. Five minutes into the game, the forward took a stick to the face, and cut his nose in the process and bled for a few moments. Later on, Crosby got took a vicious hit headfirst into the boards on a collision from Capitals defenseman John Carlson and Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist.

After both hits, Crosby finished his shifts, with the only true break being to get the cut on his nose taken care of. Again, fans questioned if the usual concussion protocol had been truly followed.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan maybe added some fuel to the fire, as multiple reports from interviews with Sullivan after Game 6 said the captain wasn’t evaluated for a concussion.

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Meanwhile, Crosby reiterated postgame that he did get checked out, and went through the usual protocol after the big hit from Carlson.

Whether or not he got checked, Crosby finished out the game for the Penguins, which ended in a 5-2 Capitals win. The Penguins have a win-or-go-home Game 7 on Wednesday in Washington, and Crosby will without a doubt be back on the ice for the Penguins.